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35 Major Labor Markets are on the Rebound

Business First of Buffalo - by G. Scott Thomas

Wednesday, September 29 2010

Thirty-five of the nation’s 100 biggest metropolitan areas -- including Buffalo -- are on the rebound, according to a report issued Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 35 markets added private-sector jobs between August 2009 and the same month this year, led by increases of 42,200 in the New York City area and 39,100 in the Boston metro.

The two-county Buffalo area picked up 1,600 private-sector positions during the past year, climbing from 444,300 in August 2009 to 445,900 in August 2010.

Click here for a private-sector employment database for all 100 markets.

The 35 improving markets share one characteristic in common. Their private-sector employment totals all fell between 2008 and 2009, before they began to rebound in the past year.

The 65 sinking markets are a more diverse group, with downward streaks ranging from two to 10 years. (This group includes New Orleans, whose employment total was unchanged between 2009 and 2010, but remains lower than it was in 2008.)

Detroit and Dayton have experienced the nation’s longest downward spirals. Each market peaked in August 2000, and has lost private-sector jobs in each subsequent August.

A total of 502,300 private-sector positions have slipped away from Detroit during its decade-long losing streak, while Dayton’s 10-year loss has been 64,500 jobs.

The next-longest declines have been five consecutive years in Modesto, Calif., and Toledo.